Pizza
by Aulophobic Clarinetist
Summary: Sequel to Pancakes. Matthew and Lovino are happily dating. But with criticisms from the other nations and their own fears, both find themselves unsure of how to admit their love. Romanada
1. Flour

**Hey everyone! Here's chapter 1 of the sequel to Pancakes! This will be about 20 chapters, and the rest of them should be longer than this. **

Chapter 1: Flour

Having breakfast together became a habit for the pair, whether it be pancakes or something else. Every moment Mathew spent with Lovino, he found himself happier and happier.

He also noticed that ever since Lovino kissed him in the meeting a week ago, the Italian had gotten very protective of him. He kept Matthew from getting sat on, he made sure people didn't overlook him, and he took offense to anything Matthew might find insulting. Lovino would hold doors open for him, glare at anyone who looked at them with an expression the Italian didn't like, and take his hand in any situation that could be considered mildly threatening such as crossing streets or just walking, really. Matthew found it adorable and therefore didn't mention that he probably didn't need _that _much protection, as he could get pretty feisty with a hockey stick.

And ever since they had actually been dating, Matthew found himself with more self confidence. He wasn't as afraid to give his opinions on things and started initiating conversations.

"Is it weird that I feel nervous to go in?" Matthew asked as they stood outside the conference room for the first meeting since their abrupt departure of the last one.

Lovino just interlocked their fingers in response. "They'll see you. And hear you...And if they don't, I'll make them."

They walked in and were greeted by a few of the nations. Taking a pair of seats in their usual corner, Francis came gliding over with a smirk. "Ohonhonhon~ That was quite a kiss last meeting! Where did you two go afterwards in such a hurry?"

Matthew had never seen Lovino get that red that quickly. "None of your business, bastard!"

"Oh, mon cher, I'm sure Mathieu will tell me everything later. After all, you'll be wanting some tips from me eventually, ohonhonhonhon~!"

Matthew shook his head fervently when Lovino looked over at him as France swooped away to bother England.

They waited in silence for the meeting to start. Bored, Matthew began doodling a moose in the corner of his notebook.

"Sit on him and die, commie bastard." Lovino said in a monotonously threatening voice without looking up, and Matthew froze, only his eyes moved up from his moose as Russia paused by their chairs. Ivan's eyes held a dangerous glow and he responded with his signature "kolkolkol" and moved to sit by a frightened Toris instead, much to Feliks' dismay. Apparently Lovino had a bit more self confidence too.

The meeting began and quickly dissolved into chaos, as usual, until Germany managed to take control.

"Raise your hand to speak." Ludwig demanded. After waiting patiently for his turn through Alfred's crazy ideas, Arthur's objections, and Ivan's plans for world domination, Matthew was the only one left with a raised hand. "Anyone else?"

No one said anything. Matthew cleared his throat quietly. "um..."

"Well, let's move on to our next topic." Germany began.

"Canada has something to say, potato bastard!" Lovino snapped and Ludwig looked over at them as Matthew slowly put his hand down.

"Oh...sorry. Yes, Canada?"

"Um...well...I think that maybe without the superheroes and robots, and if the order was switched around a bit, America's idea might actually work?" Matthew replied, turning pink. He looked over at Lovino, unsurely, who gave him a small smile in response.

A few nations stared at him, and most seemed to be actually considering his idea. "You know," England said after a moment, "that could work."

The room seemed to come to a consensus for once and Matthew smiled. He never thought his ideas would be heard at a meeting.

The rest of the conference passed by almost orderly and every time Matthew raised his hand to speak, he was called on. Whether because of the other nations' fear of Lovino's wrath or out of respect for his successful ideas, Matthew would never know, but it was nice to be heard for once.

Matthew tucked his hand into Lovino's under the table. Without him, he wouldn't have been noticed. He probably would be getting sat on by Russia or some other nation at the moment. And now he had been happy for days. Lovino was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Matthew wanted to tell Lovino he loved him, but he wanted it to be special. With a sigh, he broke out of his daydreaming thoughts to refocus his attention on the meeting. He would think of something eventually.


	2. Salt

**You guys! The support is overwhelming, thank you so much! I literally flail over every notification I get, you have no idea. **

Chapter 2: Salt

Lovino was excited. Today he was going on a date with Matthew. An actual date. Sure, their breakfasts together were great, but a real date would be awesome. At least, Lovino hoped so. He was still nervous, though, and wanted everything to go perfectly.

He found himself getting more and more protective of the Canadian. Before, he just had to fend off Russia. But now everyone could see Matthew most of the time. He didn't know what worried himself more, the fact that other people might try to take Matthew away, or the fact that now that Matthew was visible, he could leave Lovino for any number of people. Surely other nations would be interested in the Canadian.

And he knew he also would have to deal with Alfred if he ever did anything wrong. But now he'd probably have Francis and Arthur after him as well. Dammit, this was stressful.

By the time Matthew arrived at his house, he had worked himself into a state of worried angst. Perfect for their first date. Just fucking _perfect._

Matthew miraculously seemed to sense his tension, not that it wasn't obvious from his face. "Hey, Lovino," he greeted softly. "What's wrong?"

"I-I just...nothing," he spluttered, turning red and flustered.

Matthew looked crestfallen. "Oh. I...I'm sorry. You know you can tell me, though?"

Dammit. He was apologizing and he hadn't even done anything. _Yet_ the unhelpful part of his brain added. He hated when people apologized for no reason and he hated when Matthew looked that sad.

"No, I...I'm just worried because people can see you." he said quickly.

"But...isn't it good that people see me? Otherwise you'd look like you were on a date by yourself."

"No, I-I just...Chigi! I'm scared, ok?"

"Scared? Scared of...?" Matthew prompted quietly.

"Scared of you leaving me, dammit!" Lovino snapped, anger directed more at himself.

Matthew looked taken aback. "Why would I leave you?"

Lovino reddened further and looked at his feet, which had suddenly become very fascinating. "People can see you now. You could have anyone else." he muttered.

"But...I don't _want_ anyone else. I...Do you think I'd forget you were the first to see me?"

Lovino mumbled something incomprehensible. He wasn't really sure what he said himself, probably just some noises. Maybe he was stupid for getting so worked up over this. Obviously Matthew was nicer than that, and he was just making a big deal for no reason. He always messed things up.

"And they only see me because of you, Lovino." Matthew brushed Lovino's hair off his face lightly, letting his fingers trail along his cheek as he tilted the Italian's head up for their eyes to meet again. Lovino subconsciously leaned into the contact.

Matthew's violet gaze turned a bit unsure at the conflicting emotions in Lovino's hazel eyes, as Lovino's internal battle continued. "Do you not trust me?" he whispered.

Dammit, Lovino hated making Matthew sound like that, so scared and defeated.

"I do." he said hurriedly. "I just...I don't trust everyone else."

Matthew gave him a small, sad smile. "I won't leave you, eh?"

_Not yet_ his stupid brain added again. Lovino attempted to return the smile with a twitch of the corner of this lips. Matthew kissed him gently and dropped his hand to hold Lovino's.

"Let's go."

They walked to the little coffee house they had planned on going to mostly in silence.

"One?" the hostess asked, then with a slight hesitation as her eyes swept up from Lovino's hand over Matthew's form, "I mean...two?"

"Yes, thanks." Matthew said before Lovino had a chance to yell at her for almost forgetting him. It was probably best Matthew was able to stop him, most people couldn't keep him from lashing out, and there were already enough restaurants less than pleased with him. She led the pair to a table near the back of the restaurant and handed them a small menu.

Matthew just ordered plain coffee and Lovino winced as the Canadian drank it happily. He didn't understand North Americans and their coffee. At least he didn't pour in a ton of sugar or cream. He took a sip of his own triple espresso. It was decent enough.

They ended up splitting a slice of cheesecake that Matthew had noticed when they walked in. Lovino glared at the waitress who forgot to bring Matthew a fork.

Lovino let Matthew have the strawberry off the top of the dessert and they took turns taking bites of the cake.

When they were done, Matthew was staring at Lovino intently, making the Italian start to get flustered, again. Right when he was about to say something, Matthew reached across the table and gently brushed the corner of Lovino's lips with his thumb.

"You...you had a crumb." Matthew explained, turning faintly pink at Lovino's stare. But Lovino couldn't think of anything to say, Matthew was too adorable and he didn't know how to deal with it.

"Those two are cute!" one of the waitresses whispered to the hostess as they were paying and walking out.

"Yeah, but don't let that fool you. The shorter one seems like a real jerk." she whispered back. Lovino felt himself turning red. He clenched his teeth together to keep from yelling at them.

"I don't know what they're doing together, then, if he's as mean as you say. The blonde one seems nice enough, a bit unnoticeable though."

Lovino stopped, fully intending to unleash his verbal assault on the women, but Matthew's hand tightened it's grip on his. He looked up at the Canadian, who just whispered, "don't worry about it," and held open the door for Lovino to walk through.

**Thanks for reading! Chapter 3 is another attempt at a date :)**


	3. Yeast

**Hey everyone! Thanks for all the alerts/faves/reviews! I love you all!**

**And hey guess what? More Romanada pictures! This was drawn by Shiniryuu-No-Kaze on deviantart :D here's a link! (take out the spaces) http :/ / shiniryuu-no-kaze. deviantart. com/gallery/#/d4yagz7**

**If anyone else has drawn anything, I'd love to see it!(and if anyone wants to draw me things later, I'll love you forever!) So much support, I can't even handle it! Hugs for the Hetalia fandom!  
**

**Long-ish chapter is long-ish :D**

Chapter 3: Yeast

Matthew's last words echoed through Lovino's mind as the door shut behind them and their hands found each other. _Don't worry about it. _Don't worry about it? Of course he was going to worry about it. Especially because Matthew had that sad smile on his face again, like he was hiding anything that could cause problems for the sake of everyone around him. Sure, it upset him that the waitresses were rude, but he was used to people calling him those sorts of things. He hated it, but he'd get over it. Calling Matthew unnoticeable had really been what was unfair, especially because it was said in such a pitying tone. Yes, a lot of people found it hard to see the Canadian, but Lovino couldn't understand why. Why, when he was so nice, and perfect, and adorable, and dammit, Matthew was staring right at him with a concerned expression.

"Lovino?"

"Um."

"You're making faces." Matthew stated, looking confused.

"Oh. I-I was just...sorry. I was thinking."

"I hope you're not still upset about the waitresses. What they said about you is completely wrong."

Lovino ignored the inaccuracies in Matthew's statement. "They called you unnoticeable."

Matthew paused. "I'm used to it. Really," but the Canadian had a different look in his eyes now and Lovino could tell something was bothering him.

"You're not though. Unnoticeable, I mean. Y-you're really nice a-and-"

"It's ok, Lovino, that's not what's bothering me." Matthew thankfully cut off his rambling and unsuccessful attempts to find the right words to express himself.

"Then what is?"

Matthew just took his hand again and sighed, continuing their walking. "What if you turn invisible too?" he asked quietly after a moment.

_That's_ what Matthew was worried about? He suddenly got an urge to hug him. Matthew let out a small, surprised squeak when Lovino followed through and hugged him tightly.

"Don't worry about it." the Italian mumbled into his boyfriend's shirt as Matthew's arms returned the gesture and settled around his shoulders.

"Yo! Mattie! Romano! Wait up!" A loud voice shouted from behind them. Lovino jumped back from Matthew as Alfred jogged up to them. He was still a bit scared of Matthew's protective older brother.

"Hey, Al." Matthew said with a smile as Alfred stood between them, throwing an arm over each of their shoulders, and nudged them to keep walking in the direction they had been going.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Um...well, we just had coffee a-and now we're going back to my place to maybe watch a movie?" Matthew ended in a question, looking at Lovino for confirmation on the plans he was making up on the spot. Lovino nodded once, it sounded like a good plan.

"So nothing important? Great!" Alfred said, reaching into his back pocket. "Take these then!" He thrust a ticket to a theme park into each of their hands.

"These are for today." Lovino pointed out. It was already the afternoon.

"Yeah I know, they don't close til, like, ten though. It's kind of last minute, I was going to go with Arthur, but he doesn't like roller coasters like you do, Mattie, and he didn't want to go at all, so I thought maybe you two would want to go?"

Matthew liked roller coasters? Lovino couldn't see it, the Canadian was so quiet.

"Are you sure, Alfred? I know you've been wanting to go for a while..." Matthew said hesitantly.

"Yeah, bro. Artie said he'd make me dinner and I need to make sure he doesn't burn down his kitchen."

Lovino thought the American looked entirely too excited about his plans for the evening, but didn't question it.

"Thanks, Al! This'll be-" Matthew stopped, looking over at Lovino, "You like roller coasters, right?"

Lovino thought about it. Did he like roller coasters? Had he ever been on a roller coaster? "I...I don't know."

"You're missing out, dude!" Alfred exclaimed. "Oh, crap, I'm late! See y'all later!" he ran off in the direction of Arthur's house.

Matthew waved after him, then looked back down at his ticket, face brightening considerably. Lovino would go, if only to see that look on Matthew's face again.

OOO

Now that they were at the park, Lovino was having second thoughts. He looked up at the thick metal rods with cars roaring across them. It looked like a death trap. Sounded like one too, judging by the blood-curdling screams coming from the passengers.

"It's not as scary as it sounds." Matthew said, sensing his trepidation. Lovino gave him a wary look, then followed him into the line. He'd be the judge of that later. Finally it was their turn. They climbed into the car and pulled down the shoulder harnesses as the attendants went around to check that everyone was secure. When they gave a thumbs up, the car shot forward, causing Lovino to gasp. He tried to look over at Matthew, but the harness was in the way and all he could see was Matthew's unruly curl sticking out where his head would be.

The chains clicked quickly as they rode up the hill. It wasn't _too _bad. The stupid contraption felt safe enough while he was in it, and the light wind on his face was pleasant. He closed his eyes as he calmed himself down. The clicking slowed as they reached the top of the hill and Lovino opened his eyes to look around. Oh shit. They were _way _higher in the air than he thought.

"Oh shit!" he said aloud.

"Lovino?"

"Shit!" he grasped the handles on either side of his shoulder harness in fear. This was _so _not fun. Was Matthew insane? The Canadian's excited laughter as they began to tip over the hill confirmed his suspicions.

"Chigiiiiii!" He screamed as they accelerated down the hill with a roar. The ride raced over another hill, whipping them through a loop and twisting suddenly as they coasted down a steep drop. If Matthew's giggles were any indicator, he was having the time of his life. The car shot through an upside-down cork-skrew that caught Lovino completely off-guard. "Shit shit shit!" He yelled. They were rushed through a dark tunnel with a few flashing lights and then they violently rounded a corner and lurched to a stop. The car slowly rolled back into the station.

They stopped and the shoulder harnesses were lifted.

"Well?" Matthew asked, looking at him expectantly.

Lovino's heart was racing from the adrenaline, his hair blown back from the wind, his breaths coming in gasps. "That-" he took in another deep breath, "that was awesome!" Matthew grinned. "Can we do it again?" he said almost giddily.

"Sure!" Matthew said and took his hand, pushing open the gate to go around to get back in the line. On the way out, there was a little booth with pictures from the tunnel with the flashing lights. Lovino found theirs almost instantly.

"Oh god." he said in mortification. His expression on the photograph was an odd mix of fear and excitement, while Matthew's was of pure joy.

Matthew laughed. "You're adorable!" Lovino felt himself turning pink. He dragged Matthew away from the pictures and back into the line.

OOO

After they had ridden the first roller coaster and a few others, Lovino wanted to venture off to the other parts of the park before it closed.

They walked around and went on a few of the smaller rides, and were about to go back to the roller coasters one last time before they left, when another ride caught Lovino's eye.

It was a log flume. He'd never been on one before, but the line wasn't too long and all the people leaving looked like they had fun. "Hey, Matthew, do you want to go on that?" he asked as he pointed.

Matthew's eyes widened slightly. "Um...yeah, sure." he said quietly. Lovino didn't quite understand the sudden change in the Canadian's mood, but shrugged it off mentally as he led them to the line.

The log flume started up the hill with a lurching sensation, and with every loud click, the plastic and metal log-shaped boat shook. Lovino hoped it would be fun. After all, all the kids seemed to like it enough, and it wasn't as tall as those damn roller coasters that ended up being awesome. Lovino looked over at Matthew, but forgot what he was going to say the instant he saw the Canadian's face. He was staring straight ahead with wide lavender eyes, jaw clenched, shoulders obviously tense through his red sweatshirt. Lovino looked down to see Matthew gripping the paint chipped metal bar, already pale hands turning white around the knuckles that were visible and not tucked into his sleeves. He was obviously not ok. Did he really go on this just because Lovino wanted to? He felt awful about making Matthew do something that scared him. Yeah, he went on those rides earlier, but that was different. He didn't know he'd end up liking them.

Hesitantly, he lightly put his hand on top of Matthew's in a way he hoped was comforting. He was still not used to comforting people besides Feliciano. And he knew he personally tended to push people away who tried to comfort him, so he hoped Matthew wasn't the same way. He doubted he was, but it still made him anxious. He felt Matthew's hand twitch under his, as if he wasn't sure if he wanted to relinquish his death grip on the bar that probably wouldn't actually help much in a state of emergency, or hold onto Lovino.

In the end, though, he flipped his hand quickly and grasped the Italian's hand tightly as they crested the top of the hill and began to tip over the edge. Matthew's eyes were clenched shut and his other hand was wrapped tightly around the edge of the seat in an attempt to brace himself. At the last second, he turned suddenly and threw his arm around Lovino's waist, burying his face into his shoulder as they dropped over the hill.

They hit the bottom with a crashing sound as water sprayed over the front of the boat. He felt Matthew flinch against him. Maybe this wasn't such a fun ride after all. "Matthew?"

"Maple. Maple. Maple." he heard being quietly muttered into his shoulder.

The flume veered sharply and Matthew's grip tightened as his mutterings increased slightly in volume and pitch.

The ride coasted down another steep hill and came to a stop, water splashing over the riders again.

The attendants lifted the lap-bars and Matthew untangled himself from Lovino with a blush.

"Matthew, are you ok?" Lovino felt terrible.

Matthew was dripping, his sweatshirt soaked and his hair clinging to his face. He shook his head slightly. Lovino winced. "I-I'm sorry. We didn't have to go on it if you didn't want, I didn't know..."

Matthew shook his head again. "I made you go on the roller coasters." he said quietly, almost to himself.

"Matthew," Lovino sighed, "I liked those though."

"I thought maybe I could try this again." He gave a weak smile that Lovino saw straight through. "I guess I was wrong. It's just not _attached _to anything, you know?"

"Yeah I didn't like it all that much either." Lovino said, putting his arm around Matthew's waist. "Do you want to go back on the roller coasters?"

Matthew shook his head. "Play some games? Go back on the small rides?" he was desperate to get Matthew to go back to how he was before the ride, he had been so happy. Dammit. He'd ruined everything just to go on some stupid ride that he didn't even like.

"Can we leave?" Matthew whispered.

"Yeah. Yeah, of course we can." Lovino replied, pulling Matthew a bit closer.

Lovino hated it. He hated seeing Matthew like this, hated making Matthew so upset. He was never riding a log flume again. And he felt an overwhelming guilt wash over him like the waves from the ride. Their first real dates had been disasters and entirely his fault. He had to come up with something amazing for their next one.

**My sister is Lovi on roller coasters. The words that come out of her mouth are highly entertaining. I am Matthew on water rides (without a Lovino to hold me D: ) **

**yeah. Real life inspiration! Woo!**

**So anyways, I'll always reply to reviews as usual, you guys are amazing!**

**Next chapter: another date that may or may not go as planned. Flustered!Lovi and Infatuated!Matthew. **

**Also does anyone have a tumblr? Let's be friends! Mine's katherine1753 :)**


	4. Water

**Thanks so much for all of the continued support with this! I love you guys!**

Chapter 4: Water

Matthew was sitting by his front door, waiting for Lovino to come pick him up for a date. He had no idea what they were doing to do, as Lovino had been determined to keep it as a surprise, but he hoped it wouldn't end as disastrously as last time. He thought he'd be able to handle the water rides again, but apparently not, as he just ended up embarrassing himself and cutting their date short.

With a sigh, he shook himself out of his thoughts, instead focusing on his excitement for that afternoon. He found he really didn't care what they were doing as long as he got to spend more time with Lovino. His expression brightened as the Italian's car pulled into his driveway. Before Lovino could park, Matthew had made his way outside.

"Hi Lovino!" he greeted quietly and excitedly.

"Hey. You ready?"

"Yeah! Where are we going?"

"You'll see." he replied sneakily.

"Maple." He muttered, he had wanted to figure it out. Lovino just smirked.

They drove for a while in companionable silence, Lovino looking deep in thought, and Matthew content to ride with him wherever they were going.

"Dammit." Lovino muttered to himself, looking up at the darkening sky as he drove.

"What's wrong?"

"If it rains, it'll complicate things." Lovino replied, still obviously trying to hide their destination and activities.

Matthew didn't really mind the rain, although he wondered what sort of thing he had planned that would be so affected by the weather.

He parked at the park they had walked through after the meeting they had ditched. Matthew looked around curiously as Lovino pulled a picnic basket and blanket from his trunk. Matthew couldn't stop the beaming smile that stretched across his face or the light kisses he gave the furiously blushing Italian as they made their way down the path to their tree. This was the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for him and he was just so happy.

He almost told Lovino that he loved him. Almost. But he wasn't sure if it was too soon for that, and he wanted it to be special. He had to come up with something soon, otherwise he was just going to blurt it out in a moment of joy.

Lovino began to unpack the basket and Matthew was surprised at how much food he'd managed to fit in the small vessel. There were three or four different kinds of sandwiches, green apples, strawberries, two large bags of different flavored chips, and a whole plate of homemade cookies that Matthew was dying to try.

Thunder sounded far off in the distance and Lovino glared at the sky. If they were human, Matthew was sure the clouds would refrain from raining just from the look on the Italian's face.

"We can just eat in your car if it rains, or go somewhere with a roof." He suggested, trying to be helpful, as he took one of the sandwiches Lovino was holding out to him.

"Yeah but it won't be good enough." Lovino complained more to himself, taking a bite of his own sandwich.

Another low roll of thunder echoed around them and suddenly it was like the sky had opened up as rain poured down on them. They quickly threw everything back into the basket, Lovino looking upset and Matthew smiling because nothing, _nothing _was going to ruin this for him.

Lovino grabbed the basket handles in his left hand, Matthew's hand in his right, and ran towards the deserted parking lot.

As Matthew reached for his door handle, Lovino beat him to it, holding the door open. Matthew just stared at him. _Chivalry. _He was so sweet and he didn't even realize it.

"W-well? Get in!" Lovino said, obviously getting flustered at the deliriously happy smile Matthew was sure he had on his face.

Matthew leaned around the door, grabbed Lovino by the shirt, and pulled him up into a kiss.

"Wha-y-you-" Lovino spluttered as Matthew smiled and pecked his cheek lightly before getting into the car. Lovino stood there for a moment, then shut the door and hurried around to his own side, climbing quickly into the car.

"What was that for?" Lovino asked, still pink.

"You make me happy." Matthew replied simply.

"B-but everything's ruined."

"Everything's perfect." Matthew corrected as he re-opened the basket and pulled out the food again.

He reached up to open the sunroof's shade. The rain falling all around them and lingering on the glass and the sound of the distant rolling thunder was so peaceful.

"Perfect? What's perfect about this? It's raining and we're wet and we have to eat in the stupid car."

"It's fine, Lovino."

"But I wanted it to be special. And not a failure for once." He muttered quietly.

"It's not a failure, we're still having a picnic. All the food you brought is delicious, I get to spend time with you, and the rain is kind of nice, don't you think?"

"I guess." He still looked a bit dejected because of his ruined plans.

"Lovino." Matthew sighed. "I know you tried, and that's enough, that's what matters. You're really too sweet, you know, eh?" Lovino opened his mouth, presumably to argue. "And don't say you're not!" Matthew said with a laugh as Lovino pouted. "Will you smile? For me? Please~?"

Lovino gave a small, halfhearted smile that Matthew returned with a full gentle smile of his own. "Now everything's perfect." he said quietly and closed the gap between them with a kiss.

**Yay for car picnics :D**

**Chapter 5 features ice skates and Matthew with a hockey stick. **

**Reviews make me happy :)**


	5. Olive Oil

**Thanks for all the alerts/faves/reviews! Y'all are the best!**

Chapter 5: Olive Oil

The short walk to Matthew's house was once again more nerve-wracking than it should be. This afternoon, Matthew was going to teach him how to ice skate. Lovino was excited about that, but he was certain he was going to mess up or fall or something, because that would be his luck. And it's not like any of their dates had been going as planned either. He shook his head, clearing the plaguing thoughts of frustration. If anyone could teach him to skate, it'd be Matthew. And _dammit_ he was going to make sure this date didn't get screwed up.

Matthew stepped out of his garage hoisting a large gym bag over one shoulder just as Lovino was walking up the driveway.

"So I was thinking, since you've never skated before, that first we'd get you comfortable with that, then maybe if you want I can teach you some hockey basics and we can play a little. Al said he might stop by, and there's usually a couple of people there. So maybe we can play doubles, eh?"

"Ok sure," Lovino nodded. He'd never done anything like this before, but he'd seen it on TV and during the Olympics. It shouldn't be too hard, right?

OOO

The ice rink was more of a series of three smaller rinks. Two were empty, but on the furthest left, Sweden and Finland were passing around a hockey puck. Matthew waved to them and led Lovino over to the rink on the right.

Lovino was pleased with the lack of people there. If he embarrassed himself or anything, no one would see. Well, maybe Finland and Sweden, but they were only paying attention to each other.

In the time it had taken Lovino to take off both of his shoes, Matthew already had both ice skates on his feet. Lovino grabbed one skate and shoved his foot in hurriedly, not wanting to slow him down. He fumbled with the laces, trying to get them through all the holes and hooks while crossing them in the right direction.

"Here." Matthew said, gently taking his hands off the offending ties just as he was beginning to get frustrated. He knelt in front of Lovino, pulling his foot onto his knee, and laced up the skate properly. In a matter of seconds, he had the other skate on Lovino's foot, quickly threading the laces through expertly. He tied it off with a secure bow and carefully put Lovino's foot back on the ground.

Matthew looked up at him with a smile and raised himself on his knees to give Lovino a light kiss. He felt himself turning red, again, and _dammit _he should be getting used to this. Matthew stood up and helped him to his feet, holding both hands to steady him on the thin skates.

"Ready?" Lovino nodded once. Of course he was ready. How hard could it be?

Lovino took a step towards the rink and froze. Ok, maybe he wasn't as confident as he claimed.

"Lovino?"

"Um..."

"Are...are you ok?"

"Oh. Y-yeah, I...I-I just..." he took in a breath. "I'm going to fall," he said definitively.

"Probably." Matthew agreed. "Everybody does!" he amended quickly before Lovino even registered the potential insult. "I'll catch you."

"Yeah..." he replied unsurely.

"I will, Lovino. I promise. Trust me." he held out his hand and Lovino took it after a moment of hesitation that he didn't mean to last as long as it did.

"I do...Chigi...can you go first?"

Matthew smiled and helped him walk back over to the bench, then stepped out onto the ice.

_Of course _Matthew was absolutely amazing on the ice. His balance was perfect, he could skate backwards, he even did some of those fancy tricks Lovino had only seen on TV. But he couldn't find it in himself to be jealous. If it were anyone else, perhaps, but not Matthew. No, it was a sight to behold, Matthew on the ice. The confidence he only seemed to get sometimes when holding Lovino's hand or when they were together was there, and he positively lit up.

Lovino turned red when he realized he'd been staring, but he couldn't help himself. Matthew just looked so happy and free.

After a few more circles and figure eights around the rink, Matthew skated back over to the gate and helped Lovino onto the ice.

Lovino stumbled a bit as he stepped in, both feet angled in at an awkward angle. Matthew took both of his hands and stood behind him.

"Keep your feet straight," Matthew said, lightly nudging the back of his skate. Lovino decided it was easier said than done. "And gently glide one foot forward, then the other."

Matthew pushed slightly with his own skates, propelling them both slowly forward. Lovino wobbled and his skates began to slide in two different directions. Just as his legs were getting too far apart, Matthew stopped one with is own foot and lifted Lovino back up.

"Hold still for a second." Lovino decided that was _also _easier said than done. Matthew let go of one hand and the Italian was near panic until Matthew skillfully glided in front of him, taking his hand again. "Ok?" Lovino nodded and Matthew began to skate backwards, pulling Lovino along. He felt like he was about to fall and just as he was starting to say something, Matthew tightened his grip slightly. "Lean forward a bit," he instructed.

Lovino did and found it was a bit easier to keep balance this way. So...would leaning forward more make it even easier to balance? He tilted himself a bit more and all of a sudden both of his feet slid backwards.

"Aaah!" he yelped as he was launched forward, dropping Matthew's hands as he flailed. Then he felt two arms quickly encircle his waist and steady him.

"I told you I'd catch you." Matthew said quietly with a smile. Lovino felt his face turning red as he leaned back a bit, releasing his death grip on Matthew that he hadn't realized he'd grabbed him in.

"Thanks," he mumbled, embarrassed that he was so bad at this. Figures he would suck at this too. Damn.

Matthew just laughed softly and leaned down to kiss him. "Let's try it again."

He only leaned forward a bit and let Matthew pull him again. As they reached the curving corner, he began to get nervous. How were they supposed to turn?

"Just look at me," Matthew said quietly right before Lovino could freak out. Hazel eyes locked onto violet as Matthew steered them through the turn.

"Slide your right foot forward a bit...now your left..." Matthew instructed. Lovino did without completely paying attention, just staring into Matthew's eyes. He partially noticed them turn a few more times and Matthew's gentle cadence of "left...right...left..." was keeping him calm.

"And now you're skating." Matthew said and slowly let go of Lovino's hands. Skating! He was skating! Wait, what? Lovino looked down at his empty hands then back up at Matthew, eyes widening. He wobbled a bit.

"You've got this, Lovino. You can do it." Matthew encouraged. He wobbled a bit more but managed to stay up. He smiled a bit nervously but continued forward.

Matthew was literally skating circles around him as he stayed far enough out of the way but close enough to catch him or hold out a steadying hand, giving occasional tips and instructions.

"I don't know how to turn!" Lovino panicked as he began to slowly approach the corner.

"Just lean a bit in the direction you want to go." Matthew skated up behind him and put one hand on his hip and the other on his own, carefully guiding him through the turn and keeping him from falling over.

"Good job."

OOO

After some more circles around the rink, Matthew started teaching him how to make shorter stops and tighter turns. He stopped to grab his two hockey sticks, handing the slightly smaller one to Lovino, and taught him how to pass a puck Lovino had figured out the basics, they took a small break to rest their feet and let Matthew explain the rules and methods of hockey.

"Hey! Al! Over here!" Matthew called his brother over with a wave.

"Hey bro! 'Sup, Romano?" Alfred jogged over throwing his sports bag next to Matthew's and began pulling off his shoes.

"Lovino's got most of it all figured out, so if you want to go ahead and warm up, I'll go ask Ivan if he wants to be on your team." Matthew nodded over at the Russian who was skating by himself in the center rink.

Alfred's face fell. "But Mattie~" he whined, "I don't want to play with the commie!"

"Well, there's no one else..." Matthew said. Lovino didn't understand why Matthew was so quick to want to invite Ivan to play. Wasn't he afraid of the Russian bastard?

"Why..." Lovino started as Alfred began lacing up his own skates.

Matthew looked at him for a moment in confusion. "Oh! Well, Ivan can see me when we're playing hockey. And as much as I hate to admit it, he's really good. Al too. They actually make a decent team when they aren't fighting."

"Yeah but...I won't be any help." Lovino said with a frown.

The smile that appeared on Matthew's face was different from his normal, gentle, smiles. "Don't worry about it, Lovino."

Matthew shuffled through his giant bag in search for some of the padding and gear he wore when he was playing competitively, but most of it was a bit too big for Lovino. He managed to get some elbow pads and shin guards on him. "You can be the goalie so you don't have to skate around as much. I'll try to keep the puck on the other half of the ice though," Matthew said with a smile as he patted the helmet he just put on Lovino's head.

"Hey Sweden! Sweden!" Alfred called, trying to get his attention as he picked up his own helmet and stick from his bag.

"Do you really think he's going to leave Tino to come play with you?"

Alfred pouted. "Well, it was worth a shot. But still, why do I have to be on the same team as the commie bastard?"

"Because I'm on Lovino's team."

"Well he could be on my team and the two of us could play against you, right Romano?"

"Uh..." Lovino looked between the brothers, confused at their arguing. He didn't really want to be on anyone's team but Matthew's, especially since he still wasn't completely comfortable skating.

"No." Matthew replied.

"Why not? Scared you can't take us both?"

"I _know _I could take you both. Lovino's my boyfriend and he just learned how to play today, so we're a team. You need Ivan with you to try to balance it out."

"Cocky, aren't you?" Matthew smirked and Lovino did a double take at the expression he'd never seen cross the Canadian's face. And now he realized why Matthew was visible during hockey, he was so confident.

"Just stating facts, Al." he said in mock sweetness. "Hey Ivan!"

"Da, Matvey?" Ivan skated over to the wall of his rink.

"You up for some doubles?"

OOO

The game started out how Lovino figured any hockey game would, and he was more than content to watch from his goal. Ivan was guarding the other goal, but occasionally skating out to help Alfred pass. At first Matthew and Alfred collided, fighting for the puck, but as the game progressed, Matthew changed his tactics a bit. He had the least protection out of the four, and instead of using force to steal the puck and score, he started weaving between them, quickly changing directions and looping around to avoid getting hit again.

Matthew had every right to be as cocky as he was before. Lovino had no doubts that Matthew could easily win against both Ivan and Alfred. He definitely deserved the confidence he was emitting. Lovino felt his face heat up again as he realized he was once again staring at Matthew and not really paying attention to the game.

Eventually, after scoring a few goals, Matthew seemed to be getting tired. Alfred finally succeeded in taking the puck and quickly moved it down the ice towards Lovino. The Italian tightened his grip on his stick, watching Alfred carefully.

Alfred whacked the puck _hard_. It flew through the air straight at the left corner of the goal. _Shitshitshit_ Lovino thought as everything seemed to move in slow motion. He jumped towards the puck, stick outstretched. No way in hell was he letting the cheeky American bastard score, not when Matthew had been trying so hard.

The satisfying sound of plastic hitting plastic was accompanied by the feeling of the puck smacking his stick. He smiled triumphantly with an excited "Ha!" as the puck flew away from the goal. He saw Matthew smiling back at him proudly and he felt his heart flutter as his own smile grew.

Then Matthew's expression began to fall and Lovino had a split second moment of confusion before he realized that gravity existed and that his leap would have a resulting fall. Everything was still in slow motion and thoughts flashed through his mind. Falling. Ice skates. Slippery ice. Thin skates. Shit.

His skates hit the ice at an awkward angle and he dropped the hockey stick as he flung out his arms to try to catch himself, but fell to the icy surface with a painful thud.

"Ow." he said before everything caught up to him. His knee and hip had collided with the ice first, then his shoulder and palms, but nothing hurt worse than his left ankle.

"Lovino!" Matthew lunged forward, dropping his own stick and sliding to his knees in front of him just as Lovino grabbed his ankle. _Fuck _it hurt. He felt tears prick his eyes and he blinked them back, trying desperately not to cry in front of everybody.

"Maple, Lovino, are you ok?" Normal Matthew was back. Sweet, caring Matthew.

Matthew took off his own helmet hastily, dropping it on the ice, then carefully took off Lovino's.

"Y-yeah, just my ankle." Damn his voice sounded pathetic.

He felt Matthew carefully slide an arm under his knees and around his waist, picking him up and he couldn't help the embarrassed blush coming over his face as a few tears escaped.

"Al, can you get our sticks and stuff?" Matthew said softly. His brother nodded and he and Ivan got their equipment off the ice as Matthew skated Lovino over to the side door and carefully set him on the bench.

"Shit, dude, I didn't think you'd actually jump for it." Alfred said, setting down their stuff. "I mean, it was awesome, and y'all totally won, but I'm sorry about your ankle."

"Left one?" Matthew asked and Lovino nodded, not trusting his voice again as another tear slid from his eye.

"I'm so sorry." Matthew whispered as he wiped it away with his thumb. "I promise I would catch you. I shouldn't have let it happen." He began to carefully unlace the skate and Lovino tried not to wince or let any more tears fall.

"Not your fault." he mumbled. It really wasn't. How was Matthew supposed to catch him from all the way across the rink?

"I got too competitive." Matthew shook his head. "I should have stayed near you. I'm sorry." He repeated and slowly slid the skate off.

"Maple, it's already swelling." He muttered and gently ran his fingertips over the injury. He resisted the urge to pull it away. Damn. Why did it hurt so much?

After a moment Matthew sighed. "Well, it's not broken, thankfully. Just twisted. You'll be ok in a few days."

He packed up their things as Lovino carefully put his shoes back on and they headed out into the night. Matthew had left the sticks out of the bag, giving one to Lovino to help lean on as he walked and holding the other one himself. His other arm was wrapped around Lovino, taking most of his weight off his hurt ankle. Lovino thought they must have looked ridiculous hobbling down the sidewalk like that.

They rounded a dimly lit corner and their path was blocked by a towering masked figure. Turkey. Lovino froze, memories of his childhood flashing back to him.

Sadiq's eyes traveled over Matthew, then back to Lovino.

"Hello, Romano." He said with an eerie smile. Lovino felt his blood run cold as he purposely didn't acknowledge Matthew. He was still terrified of the Turk ever since he tried to kidnap him years ago.

"Did you hurt yourself? You've always been so clumsy. Though maybe if you had come with me those years ago, we could have fixed that."

Lovino tried to think of something to say, his usual anger not coming out. Matthew glanced over at him, and he could see the concern in his violet eyes as his grip in the hand that wasn't supporting Lovino tightened around the hockey stick.

"The offer still stands, you know. Thought it'd be a little different now..." he stated, eyes tracing Lovino again. "You should come with me."

"Back off, Sadiq," Matthew said warningly.

"Come on, Romano."

"I said," Matthew started, letting go of Lovino's shoulder and moving to stand in front of him, "Back off."

"Interesting choice of a boyfriend." Sadiq said with a bit of a laugh, "I wonder what he sees in you."

Lovino felt his face heat up. Where was his yelling when he actually needed it?

The Turk tried to step around Matthew, holding out a hand towards Lovino, who flinched away. Matthew held the stick higher and kept his gaze on Sadiq. "Don't touch him." He said threateningly.

"I'll see you later, Romano." He said with a laugh and walked away. Matthew didn't relax until the Turk had made it a few hundred yards away.

"Thanks." Lovino muttered as Matthew dropped his defensive posture and moved to re-support Lovino.

"You would have done the same for me." Matthew replied, shifting his arm a bit to hug Lovino. "Actually, you have."

"Well, y-yeah...but still." Lovino said, bringing up his arm that wasn't holding the hockey stick to wrap around Matthew's waist.

Matthew just smiled and kissed the top of his head as they continued walking back to their houses.

OOO

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Garlic

**Hey everyone! Thanks for all the love on the last chapter! **

**I've gotten I think 3 people now ask me who the seme is in this relationship, and I honestly don't know at this point. I'd love to know everyone's opinion, so I made a poll on my profile, and it would be super awesome if everyone would vote! Or if you want to explain your reasoning, put it in a review! Haha I really want to know what everyone thinks :)**

**Here's chapter 6!**

Chapter 6: Garlic

"Veee~! Lovino! What happened?" Feliciano came running out of their house before Matthew and Lovino had hobbled their way up the driveway.

"We were-"

"Big brother Spain called and said Turkey came after you again!"

"Oh. Yeah, but-"

"Oh my god! Did he hurt you? Lovi~!" Feliciano flung himself at Lovino, looking as if he were about to cry.

"Ow! _Chigi, _Feli, get off!" Lovino yelled. "I got hurt playing hockey and Matthew saved me from Turkey."

Feliciano stepped back, a confused expression on his face. "Why was Turkey playing hockey? Why were _you _playing hockey?"

Lovino felt himself turning red. "Matthew was teaching me to skate and so we- dammit, Turkey wasn't playing hockey! We ran into him on the way back here and he tried to get me to come with him but Matthew stopped him."

It was then Matthew's turn to get hug-attacked by Feliciano. "Ve~! Thank you! That was so brave!"

"Um...you're welcome?" Matthew said quietly, looking at Lovino for guidance, who just rolled his eyes in amusement. Matthew patted the small, emotional Italian on the head as Lovino halfheartedly pulled his brother off.

"Come on, fratello, I know what will make you feel better: pasta~!" Feliciano grabbed Lovino's arm, throwing it over his shoulders, and began to help him limp to the house.

"Wait!" the brothers turned at the Canadian's exclamation. "You...you do know pasta won't fix it, right? He needs-"

"Stay off his foot, ice, heat, painkillers, got it!" Feliciano smiled.

Matthew blinked. "Oh. Right. Ok then."

"Do you want some pasta too, Canada?"

Matthew smiled back. "No, thank you. It's late and I should be getting home. Kuma-whatever will be wondering where I am...who I am...but maybe next time, eh?"

Feliciano looked confused. "Next time Lovino hurts himself or next time you're here?" Lovino smacked his brother's arm.

"N-next time I'm here..." he replied.

"Oh. Well, the other one might be sooner."

"Hey!"

"But then you'd come visit anyway. Ok, Lovino. Andiamo. Time for pasta. Or would you rather have pizza?"

"Anything with tomatoes, idiot." Lovino's face turned more serious, "and thanks, Matthew. Really. I-I'll um..."

"Call me in a day or two and let me know how you're doing. Or if you need anything. I'll try to stop by after my meeting with Alfred tomorrow, but you know how he gets." Lovino nodded. "See you later, then," the Canadian smiled.

"Bye."

Matthew turned, paused, turned back around, and shuffled the two steps towards Lovino, pecking his lips lightly. "Bye," he whispered and started to walk home.

Lovino stood there for a moment, staring after him, then turned to Feli, who was smiling way too much for Lovino's liking. "Shut up!" he snapped, turning red.

"I didn't say anything!" Feliciano's knowing smile grew. Lovino shoved him away and he just laughed.

OOO

After their late dinner (Feli had made pizza _and _pasta. Both with copious amounts of tomatoes), the brothers sat on their couch. Lovino had his foot on a stack of pillows and Feliciano was tucking a blanket around him despite his meager protests.

"Lovi? Was it scary when Turkey showed up?" Feliciano asked quietly as he crawled under the blanket, leaning his head on his brother's shoulder.

"W-what? Yes. I mean no...dammit, I-I just... he's a fucking creeper, Feli. Remember I told you how he almost kidnapped me when I was little?"

"I know, Lovi, I was just wondering."

"Well. Yeah. I don't like him."

"That makes sense, fratello." Lovino just snorted in response.

"But it's really good Canada was there to protect you! How did he get Turkey to leave? He's so quiet."

"He...something about hockey. I don't know."

"He must be really brave. He seems really protective of you." Feli said softly.

"So?" Lovino suddenly got defensive.

"No, Lovi, it's a good thing."

"Yeah?"

"Of course. And you're protective of him too. Like when people try to sit on him."

Lovino rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Well, yeah. How would you like it if someone was sitting on your boyfriend all the time?"

"I don't think Ludwig would let anyone sit on him." Feliciano replied, looking deep in thought.

Lovino let out a small bark of laughter. "Yeah. Probably not."

"Well, I'm really happy he was there to save you, Lovi."

"Me too."

They sat quietly for a moment, until Feliciano jumped up suddenly with an "Oooh! Lovi!"

"Chigi! What?"

"You should invite him over for dinner! I'd love to get to know him, and we can cook together, it'll be so much fun! We can make pizza and pasta like I did tonight, because who doesn't like pasta? Please, Lovi, will you ask him? Please~?" Feliciano was practically bouncing.

"I...yeah? You think he'd want to?"

"Of course!"

"Ok...I'll ask him when I call him tomorrow."

"Yay!" Feliciano cried. "Oh! You should ask him to come not tomorrow, but the next day. That way your foot will have some time to heal so you can help cook and so I'll have time to go to the store. I'm sure he'll love it! I'm so excited, Lovi, ve~!"

Lovino just kind of smiled at him in response. He couldn't find it in himself to be angry or mention that Matthew hadn't said yes yet; Feli was just so excited and happy about it.

OOO

**Thanks for reading everyone!**

**I'll be out of town without internet for the next 2 weeks, but I'll post chapter 7 and reply to all the reviews as soon as I get back!**

**Remember to vote/leave your opinions!**


	7. Herbs

**I'm baaaaack! Thanks for all the love you guys :)**

**Interesting poll results! Combining the score with your reviews: 5 votes for Mattie being the seme, and 8 votes for Lovi being the seme! Though I got some reviews about it probably going both ways, depending on the situation, and I think that's probably right hahaha :P**

**So here's chapter 7, I hope you all enjoy it!**

Chapter 7: Herbs

By the time Alfred had finished talking to Matthew, it was already almost ten o'clock. He sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he gathered his papers and said goodbye to his brother. Turning on his phone as he left, he was shocked to see he had fourteen missed calls, all from Lovino. Ten of them were within minutes of each other. In a panic, he dialed Lovino's number and sped up his pace, almost running.

What if something terrible happened? What if he fell? What if Turkey came back? The Italian answered on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Lovino! What's wrong? What happened?" Matthew said quickly.

"What?"

"I'm so sorry! I only just now finished with Alfred and I haven't been able to look at my phone til now. Are you ok? You called fourteen times!" he said in a rush. Why didn't Lovino seem concerned? Oh maple, did he fall on his head? Did he have a concussion? Where was Feliciano?

"Oh. That. Yeah, sorry, I'm fine. Really. I...I called twice a few hours apart and then Feli stole my phone and called you ten times in a row. Even though I told the idiot if you don't answer once, calling right after isn't going to help."

"And the other two times?"

"Oh. That was me again."

"And you're sure you're alright?"

"Yes, Matthew, I've barely even moved all day. I can't say the same for my mental state, Feli won't fucking leave me alone. You're lucky he finally went to the potato bastard's house, otherwise he'd have snatched the phone by now."

Matthew realized he was still running and slowed back to his normal walk. "Well. I'm glad you're ok," he said between panting breaths.

"Are...are you running?" Lovino asked.

"I was." Matthew let out a breathless laugh. "You had me worried, eh? Maple."

"I-I'm sorry..."

"Don't worry about it, it's not your fault. I wish I could have checked my phone before."

"_You_ don't worry about it."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Lovino. But I don't think I'll be able to come by tonight, I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Really. I'm probably going to fall asleep soon anyways. Oh. Feli wants you to to come over for dinner tomorrow."

"Feli wants?" Matthew replied teasingly.

"Well I-I'd like it too. I mean. Yeah, it was his idea, b-but I mean i-if you want to..."

"I was just kidding. I'd love to."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. Do you want be to bring anything?"

"No, I think Feliciano's too excited to make everything. We'll eat around seven. Oh and maybe you can stay and watch a movie after? I-if you want, that is."

"Sounds perfect." Matthew smiled.

"A-and you can sleep with me if you want." There was a brief pause of silence. Wait. Did Lovino mean- "Chigi! I-I mean sleep b-but not _sleep_...you know...I-I just meant...But Feli said to invite you and to tell you he'd be at the potato bastard's and- oh! Dammit! I thought he was just- That scheming bastard! B-but if you want to sleep with me, I mean like in my bed, n-not _with _me...Unless...I-I mean, dammit, I-"

"You mean I can stay over with you after the movie because it'll be late." Matthew helped, smiling at his flustered ramblings.

He heard a relieved sigh. "Yes."

"Sure."

"Really?"

"Yes, Lovino, you sound so surprised that I want to spend time with you."

"I-I...sorry, I'm not really used to this. And I'm just happy about it, you know?"

"Yeah, I know."

"O-ok. Well. See you tomorrow at seven?"

"Tomorrow at seven. Goodnight, Lovino."

"Ciao."

By the time Matthew hung up, he had reached his house. He unlocked the door with a smile and went to feed Kuma. Lovino was so cute when he was flustered. And it would be interesting to see him and Feliciano together for more than just a few moments. He couldn't wait until tomorrow.

OOO

A few hours before Matthew was due to arrive at the Vargas brothers' house, the Italians started their cooking. Lovino was still limping around the kitchen a bit, so Feliciano made him sit at the table and brought him things to chop and mix.

"I'm fine. Chigi, Feli."

"But fratello~! You need to stay off your foot!"

"Whatever." Lovino sighed. He didn't mind Feliciano practically catering to his every wish for once, but it was going to take longer this way. "I'm done with these tomatoes, bring me some stuff for the pizza dough, si?"

Feliciano beamed at his brother following his instructions and brought everything over to their table. Lovino directed Feli through the making of the pasta while he kneaded the pizza dough, even though Feliciano could have made it in his sleep. But it made Lovino feel better to be giving out instructions.

When the dough came out of the oven, Lovino sent Feliciano over to get all the pizza toppings he had chopped earlier.

"Get the sauce from the jar in the corner. It's the best."

"Ve~ I know! It's almost the last one! You'll have to make some more soon."

"Well the tomatoes are almost ready. Maybe next week. Careful with that, idiot!"

Feliciano handed him the jar carefully and bounced around the kitchen collecting the other ingredients.

"Hey. What the hell are these?" Lovino demanded when Feliciano set a few sausages on the table.

"They're sausages!"

"Duh, I have eyes. But what are they for?"

"For the pizza!" Feliciano exclaimed happily.

"I'm not putting fucking sausage on the pizza."

"But it's delicious! Ludwig loves it!"

"I'm sure as hell not putting any on now." Lovino grumbled.

"Please~! For me, Lovi?"

"It's not really for you."

"Ve~ I know, but still. Please~! It's Italian sausage!" Feliciano whined.

"Fine. Only on your third though."

"Yay! But what if Matthew wants some?"

"He...won't." he hesitated. Would he?

"Lovino, you don't know what he likes on his pizza?" Feliciano gasped.

"Well we...haven't talked about it yet. I'll get it right." _I hope_ he added. Oh god he hoped Matthew liked tomatoes.

Lovino carefully put three kinds of cheese across the evenly spread sauce on the pizza crust. He arranged the sausages on one third and put a layer of tomatoes across the whole pizza. Feliciano liked almost everything since he couldn't make up his mind, so Lovino put a wide variety of toppings on his third. Lovino covered his own third in tomatoes.

He looked at all the bowls of ingredients Feli had brought over. Mushrooms? No, Matthew didn't seem like the mushroom type. He pushed that bowl to the side. He liked sweeter things, from what Lovino noticed, so he pushed away the crushed pepper flakes and onions. Considering the remaining bowls for a moment, he pushed away the small bowl of herbs. There were enough flavors in his sauce; he made it, after all. He also pushed aside the offending bowl of sausages.

He didn't want Matthew to have too many tomatoes so he pulled the bowl of carefully sliced delicious red spheres into his lap and ate the remaining ones while contemplating the pizza.

"Lovi, are you almost done? We have to put it in the oven soon!"

"Yeah, yeah. I know."

Maybe Matthew wanted meat on his pizza? Lovino looked at the bowls but only saw the sausage. No way in hell. Oh well. He pushed aside the bowl of spinach after glaring at it for a moment and it was soon joined by the bowl of olives. The only vegetables left were bell peppers. Lovino looked at them for a moment, then picked out the sweeter yellow ones and carefully put them on Matthew's third. He picked them all off again, and the tomatoes off his, and put some more cheese on Matthew's side. Feliciano's third was more of a pile of random ingredients so he left it alone.

He arranged the peppers into an outline of a maple leaf and put the sliced tomatoes inside, and then made a checkered pattern of tomatoes on his own third.

He looked at the pizza for a moment, considering it carefully, and tilted his head to the left, mouth twitching to the side. After a moment he nodded and sprinkled parmesan cheese across the top of the entire pizza.

"Oi! Feli! I'm done." He called and his brother bounded over to the table.

"Aww, Lovi, it's so cute!" Feliciano cooed as he put the pizza in the oven.

"Shut up." Lovino snapped. He didn't mean for it to be cute, he just wanted Matthew to like it. And if he got the toppings wrong, at least it would look nice, right? He grumbled to himself again and started to make a salad.

**Thanks for reading everyone! Chapter 8 will be the actual dinner! We'll see if Mattie can handle the Italies together ;)**


	8. Tomato Sauce

**Hey guys. So I realize I may have unintentionally been implying that the rating of this story is going up. I totally see how a lot of the stuff I've asked/said looks like it's going that way. I honestly didn't mean it like that (this happens to me IRL...) but it was surprisingly well received. I don't want to get everyone's hopes up for nothing, so I'll tell you what's going on. Pizza will remain rated T. However, if all goes well, I will write a short third part in which the M rating is deserved. Maybe I'll even write a seme!Mattie and a seme!Lovi just to make everyone happy!**

**Of course, this all depends on if they make it through chapters 13-17...**

**So anyways, I apologize for any confusion and for the short length/randomness of this chapter (life took over my life...). I feel like it's not quite up to par. But here's the anticipated dinner with the family! And sorry for any wrong translations. I don't speak Italian or French. Only a little German.**

Chapter 8: Tomato Sauce

Matthew knocked on the door right at seven and it was answered by an excited Feliciano.

"Hi Canada! I'm so happy you're here! Lovi's in the kitchen, he tried to walk to the door but I wouldn't let him! I hope you like pizza and pasta! Lovi's pizza is the best, but I think pasta is my favorite. Yes, my favorite is definitely pasta! Ve~ Are you hungry? Oh! We should go to the kitchen, everything's almost ready!" he babbled excitedly.

"Oi! Are you done harassing my boyfriend yet?" he heard Lovino's voice yell from what was presumably the kitchen.

"Ve~ I'm sorry, Lovi, I'm just so excited!"

Matthew followed the hyper Italian into their kitchen and the warm, rich smell of pizza and pasta washed over him. "Yay! The pizza's done!"

"Hey, Lovino." Matthew smiled.

"Hi. Sorry about that." Lovino looked up from the salad he was mixing to jerk his head towards his brother.

"No, it's fine. It's cute how easily excited he gets." A flash of nervousness crossed Lovino's face before morphing into a frown. "Not as cute as you, though," he added honestly, turning the frown into a blush. He sat next to Lovino and watched Feliciano bounce around the kitchen, setting the table. Lovino's eyes remained in directed at the bowl of greens.

"Everything smells amazing. Can I help with anything?" Matthew asked politely.

"You don't have to."

"Ve~ I can get everything! It was all Lovi's idea too! He didn't know what you liked on your pizza but he guessed and here it is!" Feliciano held out the pizza proudly.

Matthew felt his cheeks turn pink at the thoughtfulness of the maple leaf shaped toppings. "It's perfect."

"See, Lovi? I knew you could do it!"

"You didn't say anything. I knew I could do it...maybe..."

"It's so cute!" Matthew said happily. At Feliciano's light laugh, he guessed the younger brother had said something similar before he got there. "Thanks, Lovino, I didn't know you were so creative."

"Ve~"

"I-I'm..." Lovino turned red. "Don't make fun of me!"

Matthew panicked. He didn't mean it sarcastically. Lovino turned away suddenly, unable to flee, but Matthew caught the tears welling up in his eyes before his face was out of sight. Maybe someone else had said something and Lovino was overly sensitive about it? He didn't know what made him so upset.

"No, Lovino, I'm not! I was serious! I...I really like it!" Matthew said hurriedly.

"Y-yeah?" he sniffed.

"I-I'm sorry if it sounded different, eh? I love it."

"N-no...it's just..." he wiped his eyes with his sleeve hastily. "I...d-don't worry about it."

Matthew frowned slightly. Feliciano stood up and did an almost convincing job of pretending to stir the pasta and getting out of their conversation.

"I am worried about it. About you."

Lovino made a noise somewhere between a huff and a sob, and it came out more as a 'meep.'

"Do you...do you want to talk about it later?" Matthew asked softly, wiping away a tear Lovino missed with the tip of his finger.

"N-not really but I will," he admitted.

"You don't have to if you don't want to." He didn't want to force Lovino to say anything he didn't want to, but it was worrying how quickly he got upset.

"I should. It'll help I guess." he said as if trying to assure himself of words he didn't believe to be true.

"Ok." Matthew nodded and gave him a half smile.

"Yeah." Lovino muttered softly back. "Feli, is that pasta done yet? The pizza's getting cold."

"Ve~ Yes, it's just now finished! Perfect timing, fratello!"

The Italian brothers piled Matthew's plate and their own high with pizza, pasta, salad, and bread.

It was amusing to watch the Italy Brothers together. They were like a mirror image as they put together three plates of food, passing things in perfect sync without even having to say anything.

When they were finishing their food, Feliciano's cell phone rang. "Ve~ It's Ludwig!" he said happily and answered the phone. "Hello!"

Lovino rolled his eyes and Matthew stifled a laugh.

"Yes, yes, I'll be over soon. We can have dessert! ...No! Nonononono, Ludwig, I already made it! ...You don't have to worry about me messing up your kitchen again...Ok! See you soon! Ti amo!...Ich liebe dich! See, I've been practicing! Ciao, Ludwig!"

Lovino looked livid. "What the fuck was that?"

"What was what, Lovi?"

"I...I don't know whether to be more angry about you speaking such a stupid language or you saying you love the potato bastard! What the hell are you thinking? Oh wait, you aren't."

"Waaah Lovi~! But I do! I love him! And I like learning things! I only know Italian and Ludwig wants to teach me! You got to learn Spanish! It's not fair!"

"Yeah well I don't go around speaking it. It's stupid. Italian is better."

"Of course Italian is better! We have all sorts of different names for pasta! Spaghetti, Fusilli, Rigatoni, Penne-"

"Oh god. Shut up."

"Tortellini, Lasagna, Gnocchi-"

"Gnocchi is stupid! Fucking potatoes."

"Linguine, Fettuccine-"

Matthew watched the whole exchange in amusement. The brothers were just so...entertaining to observe. And he had thought _Lovino_ changed emotions quickly.

"Feli! Silenzio!"

"Ve~ fine." But after a moment, he brightened again, "hey, Matthew, do you know Italian?"

Caught off-guard by the sudden inclusion into the conversation, it took him a moment to respond. "No, but I know French."

"Ooooh! Like big brother France! Say something! Please~"

"Um...Bonjour, je suis Matthieu."

"No, say a lot of things! Please?"

"Oh. um...bonjour, je suis Matthieu. Je suis Canadienne. J'aime les crêpes. Lovino et Feliciano sont Italiens. Feliciano aime les pâtes. Feliciano aime Ludwig. Ludwig est Allemand. Ludwig aime les pommes de terre. Lovino déteste Ludwig, mais il aime les tomates. Lovino est très mignon." He felt as if he were reciting lines. They were all just simple sentences, but Feliciano looked enthralled. Lovino seemed a bit confused, but didn't say anything.

"That sounds different from Francis..." Feliciano pointed out.

"Because the bastard's trying to get into your pants."

"Ve~ what does it mean?"

"Um...I-I said...Hello, I'm Matthew. I'm Canadian. I like pancakes. Lovino and Feliciano are Italian. Feliciano likes pasta. Feliciano loves Ludwig. Ludwig is German." he noticed Lovino glare. "Lovino hates Ludwig, but he likes tomatoes."

"Damn right." Lovino muttered.

"Lovino is very cute."

"Wait, which part was that?" Feliciano said excitedly.

"Lovino est très mignon." he repeated and Lovino turned an interesting shade of red.

"Yay! That was fun, Canada. Maybe we could teach you Italian next time you're here! Are you done eating? I'll clean up!"

"Oh, let me help."

"You don't have to."

"I want to."

"Ve~ ok then. I have something I want to talk to you about anyways. Lovi, we'll bring you to the couch first, I don't want you to get hurt again."

"I'm fine, idiot," but he took Matthew and Feli's outstretched hands and pulled himself up. They helped him into the living room and Matthew followed Feliciano back into the kitchen.

**And there you have it. **

**Coming up in Chapter 9: An interesting conversation with Feli, a potential movie with Lovi, and Lovino finally talks about his problems. Wooo.  
**

**I'll be in Nebraska this week so I probably won't have internet...but the next chapter will be up when I get home!**

**Also, if anyone is interested in where I was last time I disappeared for two weeks, I was in the UK with my family, and I brought Gilbird with me, so if you'd like to see his pictures, I made him a tumblr: gilbird-is-awesome. tumblr. com **


	9. Cheese

**Sorry about the wait, guys! No giant author's note, here's chapter 9! **

**Thanks for everything! I love you all!**

Chapter 9: Cheese

Matthew followed the bouncy Italian back into the kitchen. "Ve~ It was nice getting to know you, Matthew!" Feliciano said as he turned on the sink.

"Nice getting to know you too." Matthew smiled. He wasn't really sure what else to say now that he wasn't with Lovino. The nervousness he had around most people was creeping back. He handed Feliciano the last of the plates and moved to his other side to dry the dishes.

Feliciano turned towards him and the smile vanished from the Italian's face. "I need to know exactly how you feel about my brother."

"I-I...what?" Matthew almost dropped the wine glass he was carefully toweling off.

"Are you only with him for his inheritance? His political connections? His sauce?"

"His what? No! I don't understand-"

"Everyone's always after something."

"I-I really don't know what you're talking about, Lovino is-"

"Tell me why you're with him!"

"Because I love him!" Matthew snapped back before he could fully process what he said. Feliciano's eyes widened minutely and Matthew's hands shot up to cover his mouth. The shorter man turned back to the sink and handed Matthew the last bowl to be dried.

"Does he know?" the Italian demanded suddenly, making Matthew jump.

"I don't know. We haven't talked about it," he squeaked.

"Well, tell him, then!"

"I will! It just...it needs to be special."

"Why does it need to be special? I'm sure it'll be fine if you just tell him."

Matthew looked down at his clasped, fidgeting hands. "W-well, Lovino's special, and I...I just want everything to be perfect for him," he mumbled.

Suddenly he felt himself squeezed tightly into Feliciano's arms, "Ve~! I knew it! That was just a test, Canada, and you passed! Lovi's going to be so happy! I'm so happy for you both! I can't wait for you to tell him!"

"Oh. Um. Thanks?" The sudden mood change was a bit overwhelming for Matthew, and he hesitantly hugged Feliciano back.

"I should be going to Ludwig's now. I made some cannoli and pizelle for you and Lovi for dessert! I hope you like them, it's a surprise for Lovi, he didn't know that I was making anything else except for the cake I'm bringing for Ludwig! But he really likes them because they're from his part of the country. I'll be back in the morning! You two have fun! Ciao!" Feliciano waved and bounced out the door after shoving two plates into Matthew's hands.

Matthew walked back into the living room where they had made Lovino sit.

"What's that?" Lovino motioned at the plates in Matthew's hands.

"Oh, um...cannolis and...pitz-cells? I think? Feliciano made them."

"Cannoli and pizelle! I knew he was up to something earlier. He'd never wake up before noon if he wasn't scheming about something related to food."

OOO

The two forwent the larger television in the Italian brothers' living room and carried a few movies to the smaller one in Lovino's bedroom.

Once Lovino was comfortably propped up against the pillows (after a meager protest) Matthew put in a movie at random and settled in next to him.

"So...do you want to talk about earlier?" he asked as he tucked Lovino into his arms.

"Oh. I guess. I don't really know where to start."

"Why did you think I was making fun of you?"

"Because everyone always does." At Matthew's inquisitive look, he continued. "I-it's...just...Feliciano's always been better than me. Always. At everything. Everyone always likes him best and nobody likes me and everyone's always saying how much they wish I was like him. Everyone likes his food better. Everyone says his art's better. Everyone thinks he's cuter than me. Everyone just likes his personality more. They think I'm too angry and mean. But I'm like this because they all hated me and teased me and never said nice things about me, and I know Feli's better, but still. Why should I be nice to them if they don't like me? Bastards. But then I guess that just makes things worse. I don't know. They would sometimes pretend to like me then j-just laugh about me later. And Feliciano's so perfect. And I don't blame him for any of this. It just sucks being in the shadow of your little brother. I'm just a d-disappointment; Grandpa Rome n-never missed an opportunity to tell me that. It's s-stupid right? To get s-so fucking jealous and upset and everything when it's n-not a big deal or whatever."

"It's not stupid," he replied quietly, not wanting to stop Lovino's words, but softly showing his agreement. By the end of his rant, Lovino had tears streaming down both cheeks and was stuttering through his words more than usual.

"A-and you're the only one who doesn't treat me like that. The only one that m-might like me more for once. And I-I don't know how to feel about that. I don't know how to feel happy."

"Lovino," Matthew hugged him closer.

"I-I mean, is it ok to feel it, like, all the time? Because when I'm with you, it's all I feel," he ended quietly.

Matthew kissed the top of his head gently, "of course it's ok. That's how I feel when I'm with you."

"Y-yeah?"

"I've never been happier," he admitted. "I...I _really_ like you, Lovino. M-more than anyone else." Maple. That's not what he meant to say. He never could say the right thing at the right time. He wanted to say something beautiful, about how much he loved Lovino, and how he would always be there for him, and-

Suddenly Lovino's lips were on his and Matthew lost his self-condescending train of thought.

"Thanks." Lovino whispered, and Matthew responded with a soft kiss of his own.

OOO

**Thanks for reading, y'all!**

**Coming up in chapter 10: Mattie and Feliciano find something that just might be special enough, the mystery behind the sauce is revealed, and tomatoes. **


	10. Tomatoes

**Oh my goodness, you guys, this is almost at 100 reviews! Already! *hugs you all* Thank you so much for all the kind words and everything!**

**Here's chapter 10!**

Chapter 10: Tomatoes

Long after the DVD menu had repeated itself numerous times, after Lovino had run out of tears to cry, and after Matthew had drifted off to sleep, the Italian sat awake. They had talked for hours. Well, he had talked for hours. And Matthew had listened to everything, looking as if he were absorbing all of the words of Lovino's rant. He wasn't used to people listening and paying attention to him so openly.

At one point during his rant, he remembered questioning Matthew about his favorite part of the dinner, sure that it would be Feli's pasta, and Matthew had immediately responded that the pizza was his favorite. He even went so far as to say that even though he loved the maple leaf peppers, that the sauce was the best he'd ever tasted. At first Lovino didn't believe him. Did Matthew understand the significance of it? But after a coaxing explanation, Lovino accepted the compliments. The Canadian had looked genuinely confused, but pleased, at Lovino's sudden watery smile and quick succession of kisses that progressed into slower, gentler ones.

He looked over at his boyfriend who was curled up against him. While Lovino was still propped up against the headboard, Matthew had practically burrowed into the covers. An observer would say Matthew looked cold, and maybe he was, but there was a cozy warmth coming from his embrace that Lovino didn't mind at all. In fact, he found that with Matthew's arms around his waist and his head on his chest, he quite liked it. Matthew looked so comfortable and happy in his sleep, less guarded.

After a few long moments of content observation, Lovino gently ran a had through Matthew's hair, tucking some of the blonde curls back out of his face. The Canadian's lips quirked upwards into a small smile, and Lovino couldn't help but grin back.

If you were to tell him months ago that he would be this happy, dating America's brother, and, dare he say it, falling in love, he would have headbutted you and started yelling. Primarily because he didn't think America had a brother, but that was besides the point. He didn't think it would be possible for him to feel this way. But now, he thought to himself as he switched off the lamp by his bed and snuggled up to Matthew beneath the covers, now everything was perfect.

OOO

"Ve~ Buongiorno, Matthew!" was the first thing Matthew heard in the morning after he woke up alone and wandered into the kitchen in search of Lovino.

"Good morning, Feliciano. Um. Where's Lovino?" he found himself mumbling again, whether from the sleepiness in his voice or the small feeling of embarrassment.

"Out with his tomatoes. He made breakfast though!" Feliciano held out a plate of pancakes and a steaming mug of coffee.

"Thanks." Matthew ate his pancakes then took his coffee over to the counter to join Feliciano by the window.

"Hey, Feliciano? Yesterday...you asked me if I was with Lovino for-"

"For his inheritance, yes," the small Italian interrupted.

"Yes, and-"

"And the politics and the sauce."

"Right...I don't really understand-"

"Lovino has strong political connections he'd rather not talk about. We both do. But some people have tried to get closer to him just for that. His inheritance from Grandpa Rome is a lot, and people know it. He thinks they only like him for those reasons. Like Turkey. I'm pretty sure he wants Lovi's inheritance."

"Oh," Lovino had mentioned some of that in his tearful tirade the night before. "And the sauce?"

Feliciano smiled. "Lovi makes the best tomato sauce in the world! From scratch. I don't know how he does it, it's perfect. I've tried but I can't get it quite right. And people want him just for that too, like Spain I think. But Lovino finally feels proud of himself if someone really likes it."

So _that _explained Lovino's reaction to him liking the tomato sauce the best.

Matthew took a sip of the strong coffee as he and Feliciano stared out the window, watching Lovino tend to his tomato plants, slightly hobbling around the garden.

"Did you tell him yet?" the Italian's voice was quieter.

"N-no. Almost. I...I just wanted to let him talk."

Feliciano nodded lightly. "You know...the only times I see him look more content than he does with his tomatoes is when he looks at you." Matthew felt his face turn pink. "He's been happier since you've started dating. He doesn't yell as much and sometimes I catch him smiling when he thinks no one is around."

Matthew smiled and looked back out the window at his boyfriend. "I...I don't know what to say. I love him so much and I...I'm just so happy he's happy."

Feliciano grinned back. "So how are you going to tell him?"

"I don't know. Nothing I think of is good enough. That's why I need your advice."

"My advice?"

"Yes. Maybe I could make his favorite food or something?"

"Well that would be tomatoes of course! See, that was easy!"

"I can't just buy him tomatoes!" Matthew protested.

"Sure you can!"

"I really want to make him something though."

"Oh! Make him a pizza! That's his favorite! And put tomatoes on it!" Feliciano was beaming and practically bouncing in excitement.

"A-and you think that'll be good enough?"

"Ve~ of course! It'll be perfect! He'll be so surprised! I wish I could be there to see him so happy!"

"But I can't just buy the stuff at the store...I need to make it from scratch. I don't know how to do that. I mean, I could try to figure it out, but I want it to be perfect for him."

"You're so nice, Canada. You could get Lovi to teach you! It'll be fun to cook together. I love cooking with Ludwig!"

"But I want it to be a surprise. The first pizza at least..." he blushed.

"Oh." Feli frowned. "Oh! I know! I can teach you! You'll have it perfect in no time!"

"Really? That'd be great!"

"Yay! Lovi will be so happy!" Matthew found himself pulled into another one of Feliciano's hugs, then the Italian started rapidly talking about plans for cooking lessons.

OOO

Lovino carefully made his way around his garden, tending to his numerous tomato plants and Feliciano's herbs. He gently picked off dead leaves and a couple of bugs, then watered them all thoroughly and got his basket to pick the ones that were ready.

He caught himself humming quietly as he plucked deliciously ripe tomatoes from the vines and put them in the basket. He couldn't help it, he was just so damn happy. Maybe Matthew could stay over more often and they could make pizza together sometime.

He filled his basket with tomatoes and was just about to pluck some fresh basil when he looked up and saw Matthew and Feliciano through the kitchen window talking animatedly and smiling at each other. A frown crossed his face.

When he saw the two hug, he left the herbs and hurried back to the house. Maybe things weren't so perfect after all.

"Good morning, Lovino!" Matthew said brightly as he pushed open the door.

"G-good morning," he stuttered. Now he was confused. "Oi, Feli, some of your herbs are ready to be picked."

If anything, ordering Feliciano around would make him feel better.

OOO

**Coming up in chapter 11: Feliciano's cooking lessons and protective!Lovino **


	11. Mix Flour, Salt, and Yeast

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry I disappeared! I've been crazy buys and at cons/working on costumes. I'm sporadically putting pics up on tumblr if y'all want to see (katherine1753 and gilbird-is-awesome) :)**

**Also I'm changing this up a bit. The drama starts now! (ish). And the M rated stuff will happen in the third installment of these Romanada chronicles :D**

**Someone come up with a food I can base it on, I'll dedicate it to you! A dessert would be nice I think, though it doesn't have to be :) **

**I also have a vague idea for a 4th and 5th story to continue the saga. Should I do it? I need recipes for those too :P**

**AND I've been named Captain of the Romanada ship! I can't even handle the awesomeness! Thanks! And I hope I can navigate everyone through smooth waters :)**

**Anyway, here's chapter 11! Sorry for the short-ness, 12 will be longer. **

Chapter 11: Mix Flour, Salt, and Yeast

A week had passed since the night of the family dinner and the following morning of confusion, and Lovino was just as concerned about it as ever. But he tried to push all his anxiety away, because Matthew was on his way over to learn how to cook Italian food with himself and Feliciano. He wasn't sure where Matthew's sudden interest in cooking came from, but he was more than happy to be able to teach him.

Feli had insisted that they start with lasagna, though Lovino had wanted to make pizza again, and Matthew had agreed instantly, remembering when the brothers had brought the dish to a previous world meeting.

They both greeted Matthew at the door, excited to cook together. "Hi!" Matthew smiled at them and Lovino gave him a light kiss in greeting.

"Matthew!" Feliciano exclaimed, "I'm so happy you're here to cook with us!"As Feliciano pulled Matthew into a hug, Lovino couldn't help but glare. It wasn't fair that Feli could just go around hugging people, hugging _Matthew_, and that Matthew looked so damn happy about it.

But Matthew was _his_ boyfriend, not Feliciano's. With that thought, as Matthew took his hand to walk to the kitchen, Lovino pulled him down into a passionate kiss. When he broke away, Matthew was smiling dreamily back at him, albeit slightly confused. Feli, on the other hand, had an unreadable expression on his face.

"What? Can't I kiss my boyfriend whenever I want?" he snapped and noticed Matthew's face brighten even more. Mission accomplished.

In response, Matthew leaned down to capture Lovino's lips with his own, in a softer, sweeter kiss. "Of course you can," he smiled when they slowly pulled apart.

A soft "ve~" came from the other side of the kitchen. If Lovino wasn't mistaken, Feliciano sounded slightly disappointed. He'd dwell on that later. For now, they had food to make, and damn he was hungry.

The brothers moved in sync around the kitchen, pulling out ingredients and utensils. Feliciano started pouring things into bowls, just eying it, while Lovino carefully measured out everything.

"The best part about a lasagna is the layers!" Feli said excitedly. "You can put in anything you want!"

"Within reason," Lovino interrupted. Really. Feli would end up putting wurst or fucking potatoes in there if he didn't watch him.

"I am reasonable!" Feliciano whined and Lovino just rolled his eyes as Matthew stifled a laugh.

The two brothers looked at the remaining task, trying to decide which to delegate to Matthew.

"I'll get the noodles ready and you two can do the sauce, tomatoes, and cheese." Feliciano suggested.

Lovino nodded. "I already measured out the sauce when I made it the other day. So we just need to slice the tomatoes and grate the cheese."

They looked at each other, communicating silently. While the tomatoes were Lovino's favorite part, he knew that slicing them would probably be easier than perfectly grating the cheese. Though, if the tomatoes weren't sliced right, it would ruin everything. Not that Feliciano would notice if they were slightly wrong, or Matthew either, but Lovino would know. And if they were more than slightly wrong, Feliciano wouldn't be happy about it.

He trusted Matthew's cooking abilities, he did make the best pancakes in the world of course, but could he trust him with the slicing of his precious tomatoes?

Feli looked back at him, biting his lip in concern. Lovino knew how his brother could get if the cheese wasn't grated well enough. And he could see Feli's hesitation in trusting Matthew with the tomatoes. It made him angry. Why couldn't Feliciano trust Matthew to do it? Why had _he _even questioned it himself earlier? Of course Matthew could do it! Fuck this. He glared at his brother until Feli shrugged slightly, still concerned.

The two Italies turned and faced Matthew seriously. Lovino's hand came to rest on his chin, a finger to his lips as he pondered.

"Matthew could do it." He said decisively.

"If he knows how, it _is _the easiest-"

"_And_ the hardest."

"Ve~" Feli's head tilted to the right almost at the same time Lovino's tilted to the left. Matthew looked like a deer in the headlights.

"...what am I doing?"

"Slicing the tomatoes!" Feliciano held out a large knife and a bowl overflowing with tomatoes. "Make sure they're perfect!"

Matthew paled slightly and looked back and forth between them. Apparently he understood the importance of his task. Good. He hesitantly reached out and took the proffered items, carefully putting a tomato on the cutting board, and glanced back towards Lovino, lost.

"Like this," Lovino said, coming to stand behind Matthew. He put one hand on Matthew's that was holding the tomato, and the other on the hand with the knife. He gently moved the knife down, slicing off a perfect chunk of tomato. "See? Make them all that thick and it'll be fine. You try." He let the hand holding Matthew's on the tomato fall to rest on the Canadian's hip.

Matthew slid the knife across the tomato to where the next slice should be, feeling a slight pressure from Lovino's fingers when he reached the right place, and cut a slice.

"Buono," Lovino said and moved up on his toes to kiss Matthew's cheek lightly before standing next to him to grate the cheese. And it pleased the Italian that Matthew's cheeks remained a lovely shade of pink for the rest of the time he was slicing.

When everything was ready, they went back and forth layering the ingredients in the pan. The Italian brothers kept elaborating on variations of lasagna and arguing slightly over key points. If Lovino didn't know any better, he'd think the potato bastard was influencing Feliciano's taste in Italian food.

While the lasagna baked, they took turns speaking rapidly about other dishes they could make, talking over each other and interrupting as often as they finished each other's sentences. Matthew didn't talk much, but looked highly amused by the situation.

Finally, the dinner was ready, and Lovino was proud to say it was the best lasagna he'd ever had.

**Thanks for reading! Coming up in the next chapter: Matthew trying to get Feli's lessons to be about pizza, somewhat angsty Lovino, and Turkey. **

**I'll try to have it up by my birthday on Sunday :D**

Remember to let me know your opinions!  



	12. Add in Water and Olive Oil

**Hey everyone! Here's ch12 on my birthday like I promised! Thanks everyone!**

**...it's not long like I promised though, I'm sorry, but I had to make cupcakes...*throws cupcakes at everyone*  
**

Chapter 12: Add in Water and Olive Oil

A few days later, Matthew was on his way back to the Italian brothers' house for another cooking lesson. He wasn't sure how this would be helping him learn to make the perfect pizza for Lovino, but he was having fun with the Italies. It really was cool how they played off each other, they seemed closer than he and Al. Although, it probably helped that both of the brothers were always visible.

This time, a gleeful Feliciano informed him they were making spaghetti, and that it was one of his most favorite pastas. And once again, he wasn't really learning much, it was just them cooking together again.

Feliciano was doing something with the pasta, Lovino was once again grating cheese, and Matthew was given the task of chopping vegetables. He was extra careful with the slicing, and decided to leave the tomatoes until last. If only there was a way that he could talk to Feliciano for just a moment without Lovino hearing.

But miraculously, Feliciano seemed to pick up on his hesitation and at a brief moment of eye contact, he flashed Matthew a nervous smile.

"Oh no, fratello, we don't have any bread!" Feliciano gasped suddenly.

"...so?" Lovino looked up, bored.

"We can't eat the pasta without garlic bread!"

"Well, go get some then."

"But Lovi~ I'm busy making the noodles!" Feli whined, gesturing around the kitchen with a handful of noodles. The brothers stared at each other for a moment, and Matthew felt relieved that he'd be able to talk to Feliciano about the pizza if they could get Lovino out of the house.

"_Fine. _Matthew?" Matthew froze when he realized he was intended to go as well.

"Oh. Um..."

"Matthew has to stay and make a salad!" the more hyper Italian announced in a decisive tone.

The Canadian smiled sheepishly.

"And the grocery list is on your phone! You might as well get everything while you're there!"

Lovino looked at Matthew, and it was with an expression Matthew had only ever seen in the mirror before: an quiet mix of nervousness, fear, confusion, and disappointment. But as soon as he saw it, it was gone, and Lovino turned his gaze on his brother in a glare, snatched his keys from the bowl by the door, and left.

"Ve~ I'm sorry Canada. I hope I didn't make him too angry." Feli said after a moment.

Matthew gave him a half smile. "He'll be ok. Hopefully. I'll talk to him about it later. I needed to talk to you about the pizza."

"I can't teach you how to make a pizza for Lovi when Lovi's here!"

"That's alright, eh? We'll just have to figure out another way to do this." Matthew thought for a bit. "Maybe you could come over to my house, or if Lovino's ever out for a while?"

"He doesn't go out much, only with you, really...but if you think that'll work, we could try!"

"Good. I...I really want to tell him soon, you know?" Matthew said as he began to cut the tomatoes how Lovino had instructed him last time.

"Ve~ I know. And I think he needs to hear it soon too." Feliciano brightened again, "And it'll make him so happy! And the pizza too!"

"I hope so," Matthew smiled back.

"I could teach you tomorrow if you want!" He was beginning to get overly excited again, practically bouncing along with his noodles.

"Lovino's coming over tomorrow night, but if you want to start teaching me before, that could work...as long as you're gone before he gets there, I don't want him to guess what we're doing! The pizza _has _to be a surprise!"

"Of course! And you'll have it perfectly by the end of the week! I know it!"

OOO

Lovino was angry. Very angry. Who the hell did Feliciano think he was? He knew it wasn't like he and Matthew were on an actual date, but still. Shouldn't his brother be the one that ended up by himself in this situation?

He glared menacingly at the red light slowing him down until it changed to green again and a sense of anxiety washed over him. What if Feli and Matthew didn't want him there? Screw the 'washing' anxiety, he was drowning in it.

He stomped into the grocery store, grabbing a basket harshly and quickly went through the list on his phone. He barely noticed the other shoppers fleeing his angry glare. Of course his brother wanted some stupid potato-bastard inspired food. He was only slightly paying attention to the stuff he was putting in the basket, trying to get through the list as quickly as he possibly could, so he could get back home and try to figure out what was going on.

Were Matthew and Feli up to something? Or was he just being paranoid? He sighed angrily and turned into the next aisle, which was quickly vacated by every person in his line of sight. He stared at the wall of cereal, looking for the overly complicated one Feliciano wanted.

"Hey! South Italy!" a loud voice called from across the aisle. Turkey. And somehow, he didn't find himself feeling fearful.

"What the hell do you want, bastard?" Lovino grumbled as he shoved a box of cereal into his basket.

"Ooooh, touchy! Not afraid of me anymore?" he laughed. His laughter pissed Lovino off even more. He felt like _everyone _was laughing at him, like he was being stupid and missing something, and-

"I just- Hey!" Sadiq grabbed the small Italian's cellphone and pushed a series of buttons, interrupting his train of thought and attempted explanation.

"Here. My number's in there now. Call me if you ever change your mind." Turkey waved and strode away, still laughing, and the aisle was deserted once more.

"I won't," he replied stubbornly, but put the phone back in his pocket without deleting it.

**Mwahaha. Coming up in 13: Secret cooking lessons and jealous!Lovino. **


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm sorry. **

OOOOOO

A little while after breakfast at the Italies' house, Lovino was attempting to take a nap in their living room when an obnoxious ringtone filled the air. He sighed and looked around for his brother's phone. After digging through some cushions, he found it under the couch.

With a roll of his eyes, he yelled "Oi! Feli! Phone!" in the general direction of the kitchen.

"Ve~ is it Ludwig?" his brother asked excitedly.

"No, it's..." Lovino looked down at the caller ID and froze. _Matthew Williams (Canada). _Why was Matthew calling Feliciano? He let it ring, each trill of the phone weighing down on him with anxious pressure.

"Lovi?" Feliciano paused in the doorway.

"Why is Matthew calling you?" he managed to ask with an air of calmness, voice betraying him a bit in the end as it cracked, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

He noticed Feliciano looked panicked for a split second. "Oh! He wanted to make a pasta! For Alfred! He wanted advice on the noodles and I told him to call me whenever he needed help."

Lovino frowned a bit. "He could have called me."

"But I'm the expert with pasta, Lovi, didn't you tell him that?" Feli asked slightly nervously.

Lovino felt his heart sink, and didn't reply, only snapping "aren't you going to call him back?" while angrily glaring at the floor trying to stop the burning tears from falling.

"Oh! Yes! Silly me, haha," Feliciano laughed anxiously. Lovino chucked the phone into the armchair next to his brother and stomped up the stairs. He could already tell his dinner plans with Matthew were going to go differently than he'd planned.

Matthew was calling Feliciano. Why the hell was Matthew calling Feliciano? Of course Feli was better at pasta, Feli was better at everything, but it's not like he didn't know anything about it. He was Italian for fuck's sake! Couldn't Matthew have just asked him? Wouldn't it make more sense? Lovi huffed angrily and looked at his previously-slammed door.

Maybe there _was _something else going on. Matthew and Feli did seem to get along well, and they were always smiling around each other like they knew something he didn't. He hated being so fucking oblivious. It's not like he was that Spanish bastard.

Lovino flopped onto his bed, knocking a pillow onto the floor. Maybe...maybe he was just over thinking. Maybe he was afraid because he wasn't used to having prolonged periods of happiness. With a sigh he rolled over and tried to think about something else. Anything else. Turtles, tomatoes, anything.

He heard Feliciano knock on his door but didn't say anything even when his little brother mentioned he was going out.

OOOOOO

Matthew shut the door after Feliciano and took a deep breath. The small Italian really drained his energy. Feli had arrived a little after lunch and tried to help Matthew with his pizza for a few hours, before realizing that it was getting too close to dinner time. The Canadian glanced at his watch: one hour until Lovino's arrival. With a small groan, he quickly headed back into his kitchen to conceal all evidence of Feliciano and the Pizza lessons. It had been harder to get the cheerful Italian to leave than he'd planned.

He looked around; his kitchen was a disaster. Matthew sighed and pushed up his sleeves. He rapidly began washing dishes and making a stack to dry. Thankfully he and Lovino were just staying in for the night so he didn't have to worry about changing into nicer clothing. When the last glass was in place on the shelf, he ran to the small closet in the hall, jumping over a dozing Kuma, and grabbed a broom.

He heard the doorbell just as he was putting away his vacuum cleaner. Breathless, he opened the door with a smile. "Hey, Lovi...no..." his smile quickly dropped at the look on his boyfriend's face. The small Italian was staring up at him with a sad, almost accusatory look. "What's wrong?"

He blinked at the Canadian. "Nothing."

Matthew bit his lip. "...alright." He held open the door and took the bag of takeout from Lovino's hands, leaning down to kiss him. He froze and pulled away slowly when Lovino didn't respond, sadness and confusion adding to his concern. He hesitantly leaned forward again but Lovino turned his head slightly.

They ate their dinner in silence, Matthew attempting a few conversations. Lovino looked as if he was having a war in his mind. After dinner, they moved to the living room to watch a movie that the Italian offered no input in picking. Lovino was mostly silent as he sat in the corner of the couch, pulling his feet up under him. He crossed his arms and curled up a little tighter as the introductory credits began.

"Cold?" Matthew asked and received a small nod in response. He took off his large maple leaf sweatshirt and held it out to Lovino. "Here," he said, trying to hand it to him. Lovino looked almost confused, blinking between the warm sweatshirt and the Canadian. "Y-you can keep it," he continued quietly. After a moment of internal freaking out for Matthew, Lovino took it, eyes wide. He pulled it on and tucked his hands into the sleeves.

"Grazie," he mumbled.

Matthew gave a small smile in response and hesitantly scooted closer. "Are you sure you're ok?" he asked quietly as he put an arm around Lovino's shoulders and pulled a blanket over them, thanking the maple leaf Lovino wasn't rejecting him this time. He couldn't express his relief when Lovino leaned into him and rested his head on his shoulder.

"For now," Lovino replied, almost too quiet for Matthew to hear.

OOOOOO

As the movie progressed, Lovino found himself unable to pay attention to the plot. Matthew was so fucking sweet. It didn't make sense. Maybe he was overcompensating for something, maybe he was just being his normal self, Lovino wasn't sure.

He curled a little closer to Matthew. If he was losing him, he might as well hold on to the rest of the time he could have. It hurt, but he couldn't resist. He couldn't lose Matthew yet. He knew he was probably being stupid. He knew it would be worse if...no, _when. _It was always _when..._when Matthew would leave. But he knew he would hold on as long as possible.


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm so sorry again, y'all**

**School was pretty much killing me this semester. **

**Now that it's summer, the updates should get back to normal. **

**Thanks to everyone who's still with me and our lovely Romanada. **

OOO

Lovino was in a bad mood. Well, a worse mood than usual. He was currently sulking in his chair in the mostly-dark living room, trying to avoid all forms of communication, _especially _with his younger brother who had somehow transformed in to a freaking ball of sunshine, apparently in one of the happiest moods he'd ever been in. Lovino hated it.

Feliciano had been on the phone for about an hour that afternoon in his room, talking animatedly. Lovino wasn't quite sure who was on the other line. He could usually tell when the conversation was with Ludwig, but something about this one seemed different. He sighed to himself. Maybe he was talking to Matthew. Again. Even though the angrier Italian was having a date with him the following evening. Or at least that was what it was supposed to be. Lovino didn't know anymore, with the way everyone had been acting.

"Ciao, Lovi!" Feli waved as he opened their front door, turning on the lights so Lovino wouldn't be sitting in the dark anymore.

"Where are you going?" Lovi snapped.

"Eh...to...Ludwig's!" And there was the note of hesitation that moody Italian had been dreading. Also, Feliciano had already had breakfast with the German so why the hell would he want to be in the bastard's presence for any more than he had to. There were some things Lovino would never understand about his brother. Like the hesitation. It made him think he was lying. They used to tell each other everything.

"You were at the Potato Bastard's this morning." He pointed out in a mumble, breaking their eye contact.

"But I miss him, Lovi!" Feliciano didn't hesitate that time. Lovino wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, particularly because the 'him' was so vague.

"Whatever," he huffed back as Feliciano shut the door behind himself. What did he care what his fratello was doing? Yeah, he hated the potato bastard, but he couldn't bring himself to care as much as usual. Not when Matthew might be wanting to leave him. Especially for Feli. Because if Feliciano was with the bastard, he wasn't with Matthew. And that was good, right? Right. He nodded to himself. But...but what if that made Matthew sad? He hated seeing the Canadian sad. He slammed his face into his hands. Was he being selfish? Was it bad to be selfish in this situation? What even was going on? He mumbled incoherently to himself and sighed.

Then suddenly, with a thought, his head snapped up. He should follow Feliciano to make sure! See where he goes, see if he actually is sneaking around with Matthew, see if Matthew seems happier. He could handle it, right? Wait. What if Feli had left too fast? He hurried out the door but caught no sign of the other Italian. Damn.

He looked down the street in both directions but didn't see anyone. Trying to give his brother the benefit of the doubt, he anxiously began heading in the direction of the Beilschmidt house.

When he arrived, the lights were all off. Just as Lovino was wondering if they could have gone out on a date, a lamp turned on in the living room. He ducked behind a shrub and peeked around, cursing his hair curl for sticking up obviously.

A few minutes later, he slowly peeked out. The potato bastard was just sitting there reading! Feliciano wasn't even there! "Fuck it all!" Lovino mumbled to himself and stomped away in the direction of his boyfriend's house.

OOO

This was it, Matthew decided. One more lesson with Feliciano and then he'd be ready to make the perfect pizza for Lovino. The happy Italian had already accepted his request for a final lesson and would be on his way over for dinner. And, feeling accomplished, Matthew had also already invited Lovino to come for their date the next day. He really hoped he was in a better mood. The distance he felt last time was concerning. He wondered if he'd done anything wrong, anything to upset him.

Feliciano arrived right on time, babbling excitedly about how he was so happy Matthew and Lovino could finally admit their love to each other. He kept reassuring the Canadian that _of course _Lovi loved him back, he was just in a weird mood swing recently.

As the pizza was being assembled and cooked in the oven, Matthew was listening closely to Feliciano's excited ramblings about how professing his love to Romano would make him so happy and how everything was going to be wonderful and his excited plans for potential double dates with him and Ludwig.

"I just wish Ludwig would show his love like you do for Lovi. I know he loves me, but I want some more...closeness? With him it's only sometimes." Feliciano sighed.

"Well...maybe try telling him? Or mention how much you like it when he makes you happy. Maybe he's just not sure how." To be honest, Matthew wasn't completely sure what he was talking about, but his advice seemed to put the small Italian right back into his bubbly mood.

"Oh! Thank you, Matthew! I tell him he makes me happy all the time but I should tell him it makes me even happier when he holds me and kisses me and-" he broke off with a happy squeak and hugged Matthew excitedly.

Matthew tried to smile back but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "What is it?" Feli asked, concerned.

"I'm just really nervous, you know?" Matthew smiled weakly.

Feliciano reached out and patted his hands clenched together on the tabletop. "It'll be fine! Lovi will be so happy!"

Matthew's smile turned more genuine. "Thanks, Feliciano."

OOO

Lovino finally made it to his boyfriend's house, which was the complete other direction than the potato bastard's. He was slightly out of breath by the time he got there, probably from the occasional angry stomping he was unconsciously doing.

When he snuck around back and finally got view through the kitchen window, all his breath left him like he was punched in the chest.

Matthew was eating pizza with his brother. Pizza! That was his thing! And they were even cooking together. He had thought that could be their special thing. He furiously wiped away the tears he didn't want coming to his eyes. Stupid crying, blurring his vision and making him feel worse. He sniffled and looked back up again to see Feliciano pat Matthew's clasped hands.

He had been wrong. Seeing Matthew happy with someone else? Yeah, he couldn't handle it. What the hell had he been thinking? He let out a frustrated groan and sent his angriest glare through the window before kicking the nearest shrub and furiously walking back to his house, ranting to himself in a mumble the whole way.

Lovino slammed the door behind him and angrily ascended the stairs, not sure if he was in denial of the hot tears burning his eyes and cheeks or if he just didn't care. He shut his bedroom door, desperately hoping Feliciano wouldn't come in to check on him before bed. If he even came home that night, his mind added unhelpfully. Part of him wanted to yell at his brother, and part of him wanted to ask Matthew why. He wanted reasons. Why had he seemed different, why had Lovino thought he could trust him? Why did Matthew, like everyone else, pick Feliciano over him?

Part of him wanted to stay in his room and never come out again. Part of him just wanted to give up. A large part of him just hated himself. And a very small part wanted Matthew to be happy, no matter what, even if it wasn't with him.

Of course he couldn't make him happy enough. He let out a frustrated scoff. He wasn't a happy person, so there's no way he could make anyone happy. He was worthless besides his inheritance, no one liked him the most, he couldn't do anything right, and he was too angry all the time.

A small thought came to his mind. Maybe there was someone. Someone who, well, not really cared about him, but still thought of him at least. Maybe he was just after his inheritance, but did Lovino really care anymore?

He held his phone in one hand, fingers hesitating over the call button. Lovino must have stood there for over a minute before he dropped his hand, beginning to pace, thoughts racing through his head.

He scrunched his eyes shut, pushed the button and held it to his ear. It rang twice.

"Hello?"

"Hey T-turkey? ...it's South Italy..."


End file.
